Tony Giarratana is preparing to launch a half-dozen or more apartment, office and mixed-use developments in downtown, Midtown and SoBro. He recently discussed his projects, past and present, and why he is willing to take such big risks, with Nashville Ledger contributor Bill Lewis.

The Inman News Service holds two conferences each year for Realtors called Inman Connect, one in New York in January and another in San Francisco each July. These conferences are well-attended by Realtors from all over the country and feature panels composed of founders, CEOs and presidents from many of the top companies, giving the attendees a look into the future of all things real estate.

S&P 500 corporate earnings in 2013 likely grew about 6 percent. The S&P 500 price index, however, grew 29.6 percent. The difference between the growth in earnings and the growth in the price index amounts to P/E expansion.

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) — Stressing the need to train workers for jobs of the future, President Barack Obama kicked off a government-wide review of federal job-training programs Thursday and pledged to expand the ones that work best.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks were sharply higher Thursday, erasing most of Wednesday's losses, as investors cheered strong earnings from Facebook and an encouraging report that the U.S. economy grew at a robust annual rate of 3.2 percent in the fourth quarter.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Republican leaders plan to outline broad immigration principles, including legalization for the 11 million immigrants living here illegally, to the GOP rank and file as they look to revive long-stalled efforts to overhaul the nation's immigration system.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Italian gun maker Beretta said Wednesday that Tennessee's support for gun rights was a major factor in its decision to build a manufacturing and research facility in the Nashville suburb of Gallatin.

NASHVILLE (AP) — The Musicians Hall of Fame inducted 12 new members across the genres, including bluesman Buddy Guy, British rock guitarist Peter Frampton and pedal steel player and country singer Barbara Mandrell.

NASHVILLE (AP) — A proposal that seeks to do away with local government's power to decide whether to allow firearms in public parks advanced to a full Senate vote on Tuesday despite opposition from the governor.

NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook says its earnings and revenue continued to grow in the latest quarter, surpassing Wall Street's expectations on both fronts as it expanded the number of users and the amount of money it makes on mobile ads.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is pushing ahead with a plan to shrink its bond-buying program because of a strengthening U.S. economy. It's doing so even though the prospect of reduced Fed stimulus and higher U.S. interest rates has rattled global markets.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama's plan to raise the minimum wage for federally contracted workers is winning praise from unions and labor activists, but it could take a year or more before any hikes take place and the impact may not be as widespread as some advocates had hoped.

WASHINGTON (AP) — After years of setbacks, a nearly $100 billion-a-year compromise farm bill cleared the House on Wednesday despite strong opposition from conservatives who sought a bigger cut in food stamps.

WASHINGTON (AP) — At the dawn of an election year, congressional Republicans responded swiftly and sharply to President Barack Obama's State of the Union vow to act on his own if lawmakers won't cooperate on "creating new jobs, not creating new crises" in a nation with a yawning income gap.

NASHVILLE (AP) - The House committee that killed last year's version of a bill to allow wine sales in Tennessee grocery stores on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted in favor of giving cities the ability to hold referendums on the proposal.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Businesses cut back sharply on their orders for long-lasting manufactured goods in December with a key category that signals business investment plans falling by the biggest amount in five months.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation's college and university endowments — often used to fund scholarships and professorships — had strong growth last year, according to a report released Tuesday. That's a bit of good news for higher education institutions under pressure to hold down tuition costs amid some enrollment declines.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Comcast Corp. added 43,000 video subscribers in the fourth quarter — the first quarterly gain in six and a half years — as the nation's top cable TV company said that uptake of its X1 set-top box helped it retain customers and boost video-on-demand spending.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Challenging lawmakers, President Barack Obama will announce Tuesday night in his State of the Union address that he's raising the minimum wage for new federal contract workers to $10.10 an hour, underscoring a go-it-alone strategy in an election year critical to both parties and the balance of power in Congress.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The CEO of General Motors and an immigrant brought to the U.S. illegally as a child will join first lady Michelle Obama to watch President Barack Obama deliver his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama will sign an executive order setting the minimum wage for workers under new federal contracts at $10.10 an hour, the White House said Tuesday. The president will announce the increase during his State of the Union address.

WASHINGTON (AP) — House Speaker John Boehner says President Barack Obama likely has the authority to raise the minimum wage for new federal contract workers. But the speaker warned against any other unilateral steps that could encroach on the Constitution.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Farm-state lawmakers are lobbying colleagues member by member, vote by vote as they push for House passage of a massive, five year farm bill that would make cuts to food stamps and continue generous subsidies for farmers.

NASHVILLE (AP) - Southern Baptist Convention leaders are hosting a summit in Nashville that will focus on sex. The topics will range from pornography, teen sex, homosexuality and how pastors can talk to their congregations about human sexuality.

NASHVILLE (AP) — Nashville Mayor Karl Dean and the Nashville Sounds baseball team are hosting a ceremonial groundbreaking for a new minor league ballpark that will return Nashville baseball to its historic home.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Minimum-wage increase proposals are getting the maximum push from Democrats in statehouses in more than half of U.S. states, highlighting the politically potent income inequality issue this year.

RUESSELSHEIM, Germany (AP) — New General Motors chief Mary Barra is stressing the company's support for its struggling Adam Opel AG subsidiary in Europe, saying Opel workers will get the job of building a new vehicle at the company's main plant in Germany.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Just as Ben Bernanke prepares to turn the chairmanship of the Federal Reserve over to Janet Yellen, global markets are on edge over the prospect that she'll extend a policy he began: a steady pullback in the Fed's extraordinary economic stimulus.

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. sales of new homes fell in December for a second consecutive month but even with the pause at the end of the year, sales for all of 2013 climbed to the highest level in five years.

NEW YORK (AP) — American shoppers say they are very concerned about the safety of their personal information following a massive security breach at Target, but many aren't taking steps to ensure their data is more secure, says a new Associated Press--GfK Poll.

Businesses expect their companies to perform better this year but that optimism still isn't translating into a push to hire more workers, according to a new survey from the National Association for Business Economics.

NEW YORK (AP) — Caterpillar used a combination of cost-cutting and strong sales of construction equipment to deliver a fourth-quarter profit that topped Wall Street estimates and gave the sagging stock market some needed support.

NASHVILLE (AP) - Gov. Bill Haslam says he has "major concerns" about a measure supported by fellow Republicans in the Legislature seeking to do away with local government's power to decide whether to allow firearms in public parks.

NASHVILLE (AP) - The full Senate is scheduled to vote next week on a proposal to allow wine to be sold in Tennessee supermarkets, while a House committee that derailed last year's version is set to consider reviving the measure.

NASHVILLE (AP) - Republican state lawmakers have proposed a school voucher bill they hope will be acceptable to Gov. Bill Haslam, who has repeatedly said he favors a more limited version of the program that gives parents another option for educating their children.

DETROIT (AP) — General Motors Co.'s new CEO, Mary Barra, says she will largely keep in place the plans of her predecessor, from a restructuring in Europe to a focus on improving profit margins. But she hopes to accelerate that progress.

WASHINGTON (AP) — It may just be the start of a new trend. The uninsured rate dropped modestly this month as expanded coverage rolled out under President Barack Obama's health care law, a major survey released Thursday has found.

NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil slipped a bit Friday, but still finished the week with a gain of more than 2 percent. A sell-off in global equity markets may have weighed on oil traders' sentiments, producing the first losing day of the week.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Outspoken billionaire Carl Icahn has tossed another bushel of Apple stock into his investment portfolio as he tries to persuade the iPhone maker to buy back more of its own shares.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Young Americans from low-income families are as likely to move into the ranks of the affluent today as those born in the 1970s, according to a report by several top academic experts on inequality.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A sharply divided government task force that reviewed the National Security Agency's surveillance program for four months has urged President Barack Obama to shut down the agency's bulk collection of phone data and purge its massive inventory of millions of Americans' calling records, The Associated Press has learned.

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